This invention relates to an article of furniture foot elevational spacer for locating a foot of an article of furniture above a support base thereby to enable the desirable maintenance of an article of furniture fitted with a plurality of feet above such base by the use of an appropriate number of spacers.
The positions where the feet of an article of furniture rest onto a carpet normally become marked owing to becoming flattened with time. When such carpet locations become exposed it detrimentally affects the appearance of the carpet.
To overcome the problem elevational spacers presenting spacing formations extending from a support platform and passing into the pile of a carpet once in use have been developed. A spacer is thus located under each of the feet of an article of furniture which elevates the legs of the article above the pile of the carpet. The spacing formations pass inbetween the piles and urge against either the carpet backing or the base underneath such carpet when the formations are in the form of sharp spikes.
British patent number 2 142 230, French patent number 2 265 314, German patent number 3 340 132 and South African patent numbers 75/7749 and 88/4295 all show a variety of spike or prong configurations as extending from supports used to limit the substantially permanent indentation effect of a foot of an article of furniture on the pile of a carpet.
French patent number 2 265 314, British patent number 2 142 230 and South African patent number 88/4295 furthermore show some or other form of foot encapturing configuration to limit the possibility of lateral sliding of a foot located on such spacer resulting in its lateral sliding therefrom. British patent number 2 142 230, South African patent number 88/4295 and German patent number 3 340 132 also show that the spacer can be secured to the bottom of the foot of an article of furniture especially where the latter permits penetration by, for example, a screw.
None of the dicussed patents however make provision for accommodating a difference in leg length from time to time found in articles of furniture requiring the various legs to be maintained at spacings different from one another above a support surface, even though only marginally.
While the possibility of securing a spacer to the foot of an article of furniture is disclosed, in all cases this is for material where a permanent fixture is formed such as by way of a wood-screw.
A situation often found where the feet of articles of furniture are elevationally maintained above a carpet is that some of the feet are located off the carpet thus requiring spacing above a hard surface such as a tiled or wooden floor. The spiked or pronged ends of the legs or the like that are useful in limiting indentation of the pile of a carpet can in such case damage or mark the floor.
In accordance with the present invention an article of furniture foot elevational spacer for, amongst others, protecting piles, as extending from a pile carrier, against compressive indentation as otherwise caused by one or more feet of an article of furniture bearing down onto such pile comprises a dual sided article of furniture foot support and legs extending from both sides of the support.
The objects and advantages of the present invention, amongst others, lie in providing a spacer that can accommodate various carpet pile thicknesses as well as a hard surface to cater for cases where furniture stand partly on a carpet and partly on a hard floor. The invention also provides for adjusment to accommodate different leg lengths.
The invention furthermore makes provision for counteracting lateral sliding of a foot when supported not only by bordering the zone onto which a foot is located but also by way of a central lateral movement limiting facility that need not be secured to the foot.